Upper limit of the total magnetic flux in an active region according to the photometric-magnetic dynamical model

The photometric-magnetic dynamical model handles the evolution of an individual sunspot as an autonomous nonlinear, though integrable, dynamical system. One of its consequences is the prediction of an upper limit of the sunspot areas. This upper limit is analytically expressed by the model parameters, while its calculated value is verified by the observational data. In addition, an upper limit for the magnetic strength inside the sunspot is also predicted, and then, we obtain the following significant result: The upper limit of the total magnetic flux in an active region is found to be of about 7.23 × 10²³ Mx, namely, phenomenologically equal to the magnetic flux concentrated in the totality of the granules of the quiet Sun, having a typical maximum magnetic strength of about 12G. Therefore, the magnetic flux concentrated in an active region cannot exceed the magnetic flux concentrated in the photosphere as a whole.     

The Western Crete geodetic infrastructure: Long-range power-law correlations in GPS time series using Detrended Fluctuation Analysis

The Global Positioning System makes it possible, nowadays, to measure crustal displacements with unprecedented accuracy. These measurements can improve our understanding of the spatio-temporal evolution of motion along tectonic plate boundaries, as well as deepen our comprehension for the nature of earthquake fault behavior and earthquake cycle. The Hellenic subduction zone and the earthquake-prone Crete, with large crustal motions of 3–4 cm/yr, may provide such a natural laboratory for this type of investigation. In this work, we examine the statistical structure and behavior of time series, as produced by permanent GPS sites, established on the islands of Crete and Gavdos.     

Study of the solar Slow Sonic,Alfvén and Fast Magnetosonic transition surfaces

In this paper we study the shape, extend and time variations of the solar wind transition surfaces using the Lima and Priest (1993) hydrodynamic model adequately adapted for the case of the solar wind flow. The transition surfaces, namely the Slow (Sonic), the Alfvén, and the Fast Magnetosonic surface, are important boundaries around the Sun and play a crucial role in the development of the solar wind and the structure of the inner heliosphere. We determine the shape and dimension of these surfaces as a function of heliographic latitude using measurements from Ulysses spacecraft, and we also study their temporal variation using data from spacecrafts at 1 AU (OMNI database). Furthermore, we establish their dependence with the solar activity, demonstrating their shape and location for the last two solar cycles. From this we noticed that the temporal variation of all transition surfaces follows the 11-year solar cycle. Finally, from the OMNI database, we have studied the temporal variation over the past 40 years of the plasma β parameter, the kinetic to magnetic and the kinetic to thermal energy ratios, at a distance of 1 AU from the Sun.     

Altimetry,bathymetry and geoid variations at the Gavdos permanent Cal/Val facility

The aim of this work has been to examine the relationship of steep bathymetry in the coastal areas around the permanent Cal/Val facility of Gavdos, and their influence on the produced calibration values for the Jason-2 satellite altimeter. The paper describes how changes in seafloor topography (from 200 to 3500 m depth over a distance of 10 km) are reflected on the determined altimeter parameters using different reference surfaces for satellite calibration. Finally, it describes the relation between these parameter trends and the region’s local characteristics.